Suzuki takes vehicle plant to Ghana
Suzuki Motor Corporation, a Japanese Multinational automobile manufacturing company said it was set to set up a production unit in Ghana.
The company said it intends to make Ghana the hub of its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Suzuki’s General Manager in-charge of Middle East and Africa, Koichi Suzuki, disclosed this when he called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House in Accra.
Suzuki said the company, which joins four other automakers- Volkswagen, Nissan, Renault and China’s Sinotruck-who have planned the assembly plants for Ghana, intends siting its distribution and after-sales service centre in the country in partnership with Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale (CFAO).
He said the company, which has over 50 percent shares in the Indian automotive industry, in collaboration with Toyota Tsusho, the trading arm of the Toyota Group that has the largest distribution network in Africa, intends to “find a next India on the African continent.”
Suzuki said with the Government of Ghana introducing a new automotive policy, “We are highly interested to participate in the initiative made by the Ghanaian government to start production here to expand it and to grow it.”
“We firmly believe that our next growth will come here in Africa,” he stated, adding, “we want to contribute to the further development of African countries…Our vision is with Africa and for Africa.”
Suzuki Automobile produces annually 3.3 million affordable but reliable, safe and fuel-efficient vehicles, with engine capacities less than 1.6litres via its production plant in India that churns almost half of its global production.
On his part, President Akufo-Addo was encouraged by the decision of Suzuki to put up shop in Ghana, saying, the development was a welcomed one, as foreign direct investments into Ghana would spur development and economic growth.
“We are interested in developing a vibrant and dynamic automobile industry in Ghana; we have made several initiatives towards that end and finally, I believe we are now ready to outdoor our automotive policy, which will then let everybody know exactly, people like you if you want to come to Ghana, what is available to you in terms of government support, incentives and the rest of it, and also the obligation that will be on you if you wanted the Ghanaian space,” he said.
